The Best and Worst Lunch Choices

Pack a healthy lunch, and save a little cash: Ditch these food-industry Frankenfoods.

By Jean Nick

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"Convenience" Foods That Aren't

The healthiest lunch you can eat is the one you make for yourself. It'll also save you a bundle over restaurant food, and the landfills will thank you for leaving all the disposable wrappers, bowls, and packaging behind. The problem is the food industry has convinced us that we can't make our own lunches without a whole bunch of "convenience" foods that are wasteful at best and, at worst, are full of unhealthy food additives and chemicals.

Luckily, whether it's for yourself or your children, you can still pack tasty, wholesome lunches the old-fashioned way—from scratch—in just a few minutes a day. Here are my top 15 things NOT to pack, and what to pack instead.